Game Trip
by nineteennintytwo
Summary: Now in her teen years, Suzie Dawn AKA Moppet Girl is faced with the reality of the arcade, her home away from home, being shut down. And when she plays one last game, a hidden bonus level takes her into a world she never thought possible, giving light to a dangerous situation - and leading to a surprising romance.
1. Prologue

So, uh...new story. When I haven't even finished the other two yet.

But I couldn't concentrate on the others unless I wrote this thing. My friend Mia Vaan (most of you will know her as the author of _Friends and Enemies_) had this idea for a story, but with so many others filling her plate she soon lost interest in it. And since I liked the idea so much, she let me have it.

And here it is. I hope you all enjoy it, and don't forget to review!

Disclaimer: I don't own _Wreck-It Ralph_. It belongs to Disney.

* * *

Prologue

When the jar of quarters began to overflow, Suzie Dawn knew that it was time for another official Game Night. She and Mina had been talking about having one for ages, but Suzie didn't want to go without at least a good amount of quarters that will last her the whole night.

An overflowing jar was plenty.

The eighteen year old brushed her shoulder-length blonde hair which had earned her the nickname of 'Moppet Girl' for so long. It didn't look like a mop anymore – that look was long gone, along with her glasses and braces – but where she lived, nicknames stuck until the kid left for good.

The foster home contained more children than Suzie could count. She had long since given up; so many new kids joined them every so often, and so many left. She never became particularly close with any of them, so in her eyes, it didn't matter.

"Suzie, can I have some juice?"

_Well, one kid matters_.

Suzie turned and smiled down at six year old Jacob Conner; a boy with wide blue eyes and scruffy brown hair, who also just so happened to be short for his age. All the other foster kids in the home were loud and caused arguments; Jacob was quiet and preferred to stay out of the way. Suzie had found herself looking out for him ever since he arrived at the home a few years before.

"Come on," she told the boy, taking his hand in hers. "What sort of juice would you like?"

"Orange, please."

Suzie led him into the kitchen where she took out a carton of orange juice. She opened up the straw and stuck it inside, before handing it back to him with a smile. The little boy began to suck on the straw to get to the juice.

Another boy entered the room, and Suzie instantly placed herself in front of Jacob. Warren Borson – a twelve year old boy with dark hair – made a living out of picking on the younger kids, especially Jacob.

"Move aside, Moppet Girl," he said to her. "I feel like clobbering someone. Or at least crushing their juice."

He looked passed her at Jacob, who buried his face into Suzie's jumper. Suzie placed an arm around the younger boy.

"You will do no such thing," she told Warren. "It's no wonder you haven't been fostered yet, you little brat."

"Warren! Are you picking on Jacob again?" came a voice, and Mrs. Lavender – the head social worker – entered the room with a stern expression on her face.

Warren didn't bother to deny it and just walked away in a huff. Suzie rolled her eyes.

"He needs help. Like, some serious help."

"I know," said Mrs. Lavender, and shook her head. "Are you off to work?"

"Yes," Suzie replied as she slung her open bag over her shoulder. "I'll be back after the arcade closes, Mrs. Lavender."

"Call me Kerri. I've told you that before, Suzie," said the woman, and then noticed the large jar of quarters in the girl's bag. "And if you didn't spend all your money playing those games, you wouldn't _need_ to work at that place. You'd be able to spend your time studying."

"Not this again," sighed Suzie; her video game addiction was always the topic of their conversations. "Kerri, it's my money, and I spend it how I want. Besides, my grades are fine."

"You got a straight D report," said Kerri. "If you want to get into college and become a video game designer, then you need to focus on your grades now instead of the games. I have a right mind to take away your job at the arcade so it doesn't distract you."

"It's fine," said Suzie before she walked away, heading for the door.

"Oh, and I need you to take Jacob out after work," Kerri called after her. "I promised to take him to this new pizza place today, but I've got a meeting."

"OK. Will do."

* * *

Suzie had almost reached the bonus level in _Fix-It Felix Jr._ when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"You're lucky Grandpa is busy with some other kids."

The girl jumped in surprise and leapt away from the game, turning to see her friend Mina Litwak smirking at her. Her red hair was loose, coming down to almost her waist while her blue eyes sparkled mischievously. Suzie smiled hesitantly back at her.

"I was just...checking that it was still working. Yeah," she said, before she gave the game a tap.

Having stopped playing, Felix lost his lives easily and the 'Game Over' screen appeared. The girl sighed. Mina rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, you spend more time playing here than you do working. Heaven help the kids if you end up owning an arcade of your own; you'll be too busy _playing_ the games to help them."

"Speaking of playing games," Suzie said, trying to change the subject, "my jar's overflowing with quarters. Feel like having another Game Night soon?"

"Sounds fun," Mina said with a shrug. "We just need to clean up our mess this time; Grandpa wasn't too happy with how we left the place last time."

Suzie cringed, remembering the annoyed expression on Mr. Litwak's face the next time she showed up for work. She and Mina had been able to convince him to allow them to stay behind hours and play the many games in the arcade all night long, but after leaving it a mess, she would be surprised if he let them do it again.

When they asked him about it later, he sent them a stern look.

"You can have another one, but only if you promise to clean up your mess. Last time there was litter everywhere and the place looked filthy. Like my Nana."

The girls tried to hold back their laughter. The man always referred to his "Nana" no matter the topic; he could fit her into anything that was being said.

"Thanks, Grandpa," said Mina.

"So when were you girls thinking of having it?" asked Mr. Litwak, as he continued to wipe down the counter at the front of the arcade.

"Tonight?" Mina shrugged.

"Oh, can't," Suzie informed, remembering what she had promised earlier. "I'm taking Jacob to this new pizza place downtown. Kerri couldn't, so she asked me to do it instead. I can't blow the kid off."

"And we can't so it tomorrow night," said Mina. "School night. How about next Friday?"

"Sounds cool," said Suzie with a nod.

"Shame you girls aren't doing it tonight," said Mr. Litwak. "I was hoping you could test out this new game coming in."

The girls' attentions were caught.

"New game?" asked Mina. "You didn't tell me about this."

"I haven't known for very long," the old man explained. "Only got the call yesterday. It's been made by a new company in town; _CC Games_, I think. Some game called _Escape from the Ninth Realm Prison_, or something like that. I forget. Like my Nana."

"Sounds awesome," said Suzie. "When's it coming in?"

"Tonight."

"I could test it out when it comes in," said Mina; she then saw her friend's disappointed expression and laid a hand on her shoulder. "You could come in early tomorrow and test it out then. By then I would have figured out all the cheat codes and I'll guide you through."

"Sure thing, Mina," said Suzie with a smile.

* * *

Later that evening Suzie was driving Jacob to the pizza place when she pulled to a stop at the traffic lights outside the arcade. She looked over at it, tempted to go in and see what the new game was like...but then she saw Jacob's excited expression in the mirror and told herself to forget it.

_I can play it tomorrow_, she told herself. _I promised Jacob I'd take him_.

When the lights turned green she drove away, not looking back at the building. That night, her life changed forever – and she wasn't even there to witness it.

* * *

So, what do you think? Don't forget to review!


	2. A Year Later

So here's chapter two! A big thank you to my five reviewers, and those of you who only faved and alerted...could you leave a review? It's just that, while favs and alerts are fine, they don't tell me _what_ I'm doing right with the story, so I can keep on doing it.

Then there's also the romance part of the story. I want to get it right, and believe it or not, reviews help. So please leave one? It doesn't take much effort.

I hope you all enjoy this next chapter which, as you can see by the title, is set a year after the prologue.

* * *

A Year Later

Nineteen year old Suzie shifted the bag on her shoulder as she stared up at the entrance of the arcade. Before, seeing the building – her home away from home – filled her with excitement and delight.

But now, it wasn't the same. Not since Mina disappeared.

Mr. Litwak hadn't known how it had happened. One minute, she'd been playing the new game. The last he'd heard from her, she'd called out to him that she'd been able to reach a bonus level. But when he went to check on her a few minutes later, she had vanished, and the 'Game Over' screen was displayed on the game.

Police investigation had followed, but they'd found no trace of Mina. It was like she'd vanished into thin air.

Her grandfather had been devastated – for she was the only family he had – and Suzie was equally so. Mina had been her only friend; the only one who truly understood her, and life after that hadn't been the same.

She'd played the video games less and less, focussing on the job of making sure the kids at the arcade had fun. Mrs. Lavender saw this as positive development, hoping it would encourage Suzie to focus on her grades. But it didn't. Instead, her brooding distracted her even more than the games ever did, which resulted in bad grades...and losing out on the opportunity to go to college. And despite her age, she was being kept at the foster home until other arrangements could be made.

Suzie walked through the front entrance, ready for another day, but when she arrived outside her boss's office she was met with the sight of Mr. Litwak talking to a man she didn't recognize. His hair was turning grey and his eyes were the same, whilst he also wore a grey suit to match.

"Oh hello, Suzie," Mr. Litwak greeted, before gesturing to the man in grey. "This is Clinton Crow; the man I told you about."

_Right, the guy who's gonna buy the arcade and fire me_, Suzie thought bitterly.

With no one to pass the arcade onto (he had considered Suzie, but didn't want to burden her with the inheritance fee and the countless other bills to pay), Mr. Litwak had been forced to consider other buyers – and it would have been in another few years, but Suzie knew that the arcade reminded him too much of Mina.

Clinton had provided him with the biggest offer – enough to give him pension money for the rest of his life – but he also wanted to do something neither Mr. Litwak nor Suzie liked. He wanted to shut the arcade down and turn it into something more 'modern' for the kids.

Neither of them liked it...but neither could do anything about it.

"I'll bring the contract in tomorrow morning for you to sign; easier done on a Sunday," said Clinton, before holding out a hand. "I'll see you then, Stan."

Mr. Litwak wordlessly shook his hand before the man left, nodding his head in greeting to Suzie as he did. Suzie didn't return the gesture, and instead walked straight over to her boss.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" she asked him.

"I'm afraid not," said the old man. "All the other offers came from contractors who wanted to tear the building down and either turn it into a parking lot or a mini mall. This way, at least the building remains, and he might even keep some of the newer games on the side."

"I guess," said Suzie. "But what about the other games?"

"They'll be sold to other arcades," said Stan. "But I was thinking about maybe...giving some of them to you. For that foster home you live in. Kerri's been looking for more entertainment for the kids."

Suzie smiled at the thought.

"How many?" she asked.

"Only three; that's all I can spare," he replied. "But I'll take a wild guess as to which ones you want; _Hero's Duty_, _Sugar Rush_ and _Fix-It Felix Jr._"

Suzie's smile widened. Mr. Litwak knew her so well; those three were her favourites. She didn't know why, but it felt as though the three games were...connected somehow.

* * *

"All clear!"

With those words, Ralph immediately made his way towards the train with Felix in tow and hopped into the carts. The train began to move into the power cord that would take them to Game Central Station.

"What do you think will happen to us now?" asked Felix rhetorically.

Ralph sighed. All day, they'd been hearing about the arcade being sold to someone else, and had seen the looks on the faces of both Mr. Litwak and the other worker, Suzie – seeing the girl, who was usually so full of life, in this way made something inside Ralph's code feel strange things. Of course, both hadn't been the same since the disappearance of Litwak's granddaughter, Mina, but they were even more miserable than usual.

It made them fear the worst as to the fate of the arcade. Would this new management be any different? Would the arcade be shut down? They didn't know, for they hadn't been able to overhear any specifics, but it was enough to set them on edge.

And apparently, they weren't the only ones. The entire station was abuzz with suspicions and theories as to what would happen to them all, and Ralph noticed that even Surge Protector failed to stop him as he crossed over the line. He later saw him trying to calm down a large group of panicked characters.

Ralph and Felix met up with Vanellope and Calhoun, who were waiting nearby. Vanellope looked a little distressed, being a young child, and Ralph immediately picked her up and placed her carefully on her shoulder. Calhoun looked calm and collected as she always did, but Felix could see right through her and knew that she was anything but; however, he also knew that she didn't like him pointing this out, so he decided to keep his mouth shut.

An awkward silence passed between them.

"I know that characters usually escape into Game Central Station when their game is unplugged," said Vanellope. "But what happens if _all_ the games are unplugged? And then the station?"

"It'll be the baby of Doomsday and Armageddon," said Calhoun. "We'll just have to face it, like soldiers."

Vanellope looked more distressed than before, and Ralph gave the Sargent a glare. Felix got between them before a fight started.

"I'm sure everything will be fine," he assured them. "For all we know, this new manager could keep the arcade just the same. And if he doesn't...well...at least we'll still have the memories."

"If we're still around to have them," Calhoun muttered.

"We must go somewhere after this," said Felix, turning to his wife. "The people outside have this place called 'Heaven'. Maybe there's a game-Heaven? And that's where we'll go with our memories, no regrets. Even though...we were never able to have a kid... I always did want a son..."

"You know we can't have kids, Fix-It," Calhoun told him, kneeling down to his level and giving him a smile. "But I still have you, no matter what happens."

Felix smiled back, before Calhoun rose to her full height again and they walked away towards _Tapper's_.

Ralph watched them go with a smile...which faded. He did always wonder what it was like to be loved in such a way, and to give that love in return. But he'd never found that perfect someone.

"Earth to Ralph! Come on, Stink Brain, stop staring at them! It makes me want to vurp watching those two!"

At least not romantically. He blinked and turned to look at Vanellope, who was trying to get his attention.

"Oh, sorry," he apologized. "So...you wanna do anything?"

"I...I want to talk to some people," Vanellope replied. "I haven't known everyone for very long and... You know, if this is the end..."

Ralph understood, and made his way over – with her on his shoulder – to the first group of characters who were huddled nearby.

* * *

Suzie hurried back into the arcade and looked around, before sighing with relief when she found her red work apron discarded on the floor. She'd almost forgotten it, and wanted to take it home with her as a souvenir of the great times she'd spent working in the place.

She turned to leave again, but paused when a game caught her attention. _Escape from the Ninth Realm Prison_ stood in the corner of the arcade away from the others, for Mr. Litwak had been unable to look at it since Mina had disappeared.

Something drew her to the game, and Suzie didn't take her eyes off it as she walked closer. She didn't notice the characters in the surrounding games turn and watch her. She didn't even notice the multiple characters in _Tapper_ from various other games. Instead she kept on walking until she stepped up onto the platform in front of the screen.

Suzie stared at the screen, which showed clips of the game-play. She had avoided the game as much as Mr. Litwak had, but that hadn't stopped her from glancing over on occasion whenever a kid went to play it. None of them had been able to reach the supposed bonus level.

Looking around to make sure Mr. Litwak was well and truly gone, Suzie took out the few quarters she had spare and counted them up. Something inside her said to play one last game. In Mina's memory. It was what she would have wanted.

The girl inserted the quarters before putting on the helmet, the gloves and the gun which came with the game.

She played her hardest; harder than she ever thought she could. She took out and evaded all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures, and helped free a good amount of prisoners, too. Several levels were like this, and Suzie passed them all in no time at all.

Then came the bonus level.

The screen showed a room with some form of teleportation device, and Suzie realized that this was the way out. But looking around the room, she realized there were no guards and nothing to stop her from going through...

Suddenly she was shocked with electricity through the gloves and the helmet, and she blacked out as she felt the weird sensation of travelling at a hundred miles per hour.

* * *

Remember to review! ;D


	3. Escape from the Ninth Realm Prison

Sorry this took so long.

* * *

Escape from the Ninth Realm Prison

Suzie woke up to the feeling that she was not quite herself, and the sound of humming and flickering blue light told her she wasn't in the arcade anymore.

She sat up, and with her blue eyes she surveyed her surroundings. The room was grey and blank, and the only object she could see was the flickering blue light which she recognized as the teleportation device from before...

Her eyes grew wide.

_This can't be happening..._

Having pulled herself up onto her feet, Suzie began to turn in a circle in terror...only to came face to face with a weird screen on wheels. It appeared to be some form of robot, with its gloved hands holding a gun. Looking closely at it, Suzie realized those gloves and the gun were the _same_ gloves and gun which appeared on screen as the 1st person shooter.

She looked at the screen and realized it showed the arcade on the other side, which confirmed her suspicions as to where she was. But she could hardly believe that it was possible, and came to the conclusion that she was dreaming. Curious, she reached out to try and touch the screen...only for the robot to pull back suddenly, take aim with its gun and fire.

The shot skimmed her shoulder, and Suzie felt a sudden sting of pain. Wide eyed, she looked at her shoulder to see part of her shirt gone and blood beginning to spill...only for the wound and shirt to heal itself seconds later. Just like it would do in a video game.

But the pain had been real, and it was enough to convince Suzie that this wasn't a dream. She remembered being shocked through the helmet and gloves, falling unconscious, and then nothing after that.

The robot kept its gun pointed at her and Suzie raised her hands up in surrender, hoping that the robot wouldn't shoot her again. It didn't, and instead rolled aside as the door Suzie didn't see before opened. Two large trolls, which she recognized as guards from the game, stepped inside, followed by a character who she had seen in the game's opening montage.

It was the ruthless, take-no-nonsense Prison Warden. He was human enough, with grey hair and a moustache long enough to wrap around his head twice, but he also had pointed ears and the most terrifying red eyes Suzie had ever seen in a game. His uniform was blue and incredibly neat, and as he walked in, he paused to slap one of the trolls and point out that his tie was out of place. The troll apologized, and the Warden turned to address Suzie.

"You did well," said the Warden. "But the game is over, and you lost. You will be taken to one of our special cells to prevent escape, where you will remain until someone finally completes the game. Take her away, boys."

The two trolls stepped forwards and grabbed Suzie's arms, before dragging her out the door and through the halls which Suzie recognized from the game. Neither the Prison Warden nor the 1st person robot followed them.

Being dragged along, Suzie began to realize just what had happened to her physically. The little details on her skin were gone, leaving it just smooth like a baby's, and her hair was far more solid; each individual strand was no longer fine and instead moulded together with several others, or at least she guessed that was the case. It was like she had become a character upon being sucked in.

_And what's with that, anyway? _

She never knew this kind of thing was possible, even if she secretly hoped that it would become so one day; if she wasn't being dragged away back to a prison cell, she would be geeking out at what was happening to her. Although she began to puzzle just _how_ this had happened and why it hadn't happened before...

_Mina_.

It was then that she knew what had happened to her friend. They had both reached the bonus level...which, she guessed, was to escape from the _game itself_. The very thought was both awesome and terrifying all at the same time.

_I have to find Mina_, Suzie realized. _She must be trapped in here somewhere_.

The trolls finally arrived outside a metal door which was sealed tight, and pressed a button. There were several clicks before it opened, and Suzie was dragged inside. Thinking fast, Suzie carefully reached into her pocket and took out a quarter, before dropping it at a certain angle behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the quarter land right in the path of the door just as it shut, creating a small gap where it wasn't shut properly. She hid a smile.

Neither of the trolls noticed this, and continued to lead Suzie further into the room. They were bringing her over to a silver table with a glass dome over the top of it and buttons along the side, and behind it, Suzie noticed another one similar with something in it...

She froze. It was Mina.

The girl looked to be asleep, lying motionless upon the table with her eyes closed. Suzie almost thought that her friend was dead, but upon seeing her rising stomach, gave a sigh of relief. It appeared as though her friend was in some kind of status, and found herself horrified by the fact that she'd probably been like this for _an entire year_.

"What are you going to do to me?" Suzie asked, trying to distract the trolls.

"We're putting you into a deep sleep," replied the first. "You won't be able to wake up unless someone on the outside pushes this button."

He pointed to a red button on the side of the table. The second one slapped him upside the head.

"You idiot! You shouldn't have told her that!" he yelled. "Now she'll be able to escape with her!"

"She won't try," said the first. "She'll never get passed us."

Suzie took that moment to suddenly hunch over and kick backwards at the first troll, hoping that groin attacks worked in the video game world. Lucky for her, they did, and the first troll buckled over in pain. The second troll immediately leapt in the way of Suzie, preventing her from reaching Mina.

"Oh no you don't," he said.

Suzie hesitated. She didn't want to leave without Mina, but she also knew that she wouldn't be able to free her friend alone. Getting an idea, she bolted back towards the door; the troll didn't make a move to follow her, thinking that the door was sealed tight. It was only when Suzie got the door open, picking up her quarter on the way out, did the troll start shouting.

"She's escaped! We've got a prisoner on the loose!"

Corridors were suddenly filled with trolls, and Suzie ran as fast as she could. When some appeared in front of her, she ducked and swerved, and even skidded between the legs of one of them. She tried to find the way to where the other prisoners were located, hoping she could convince some of them to help her...but she soon found herself lost, and could do nothing but keep on running.

Having turned down a hallway she didn't recognize, Suzie found herself in a small train station – and noticed a small train beginning to pull out. She took a chance and hurried over to it, leaping inside the back cart before it disappeared into the tunnel.

Finally able to rest, Suzie took in several deep breaths, glad to have escaped for now...but also devastated at the thought of leaving her friend behind.

_I'll come back for you, Mina. I promise_.


	4. Game Central Station

The chapter I know you've all been waiting for ;D Don't forget to review!

* * *

Game Central Station

When the train finally came to a halt, Suzie hopped out and paused to look around. She'd never been in this part of the game before, and she wondered whether she was even _in_ the game anymore. It certainly didn't look like it.

The girl looked on ahead through an archway, which led into some kind of great hall or station. People were passing by, and at first Suzie was hesitant to step out into the open...until she saw Sonic the Hedgehog.

Her jaw dropped.

Paying more attention to those passing, she recognized them as characters from other games; more specifically, characters from all the games in the arcade. Pac-Man, Mario, Mega-Man; they were all passing by, chatting to one another like it was perfectly normal. The fear from before left Suzie completely as her inner gamer began to rejoice, and she hurried forwards with an excited skip in her step.

But as she passed under the arch, an alarm went off, and the girl froze as a holographic security guard appeared beside her.

"Name?"

The fear returned, and Suzie began to panic.

"Name?" the guard repeated.

"Um...Suzie," said Suzie.

"Where you coming from?" he went on to ask.

"Um...Escape from the...Ninth Realm...Prison... The game behind me," the girl replied, gesturing behind her.

"Where you heading?"

"I'm...not sure," Suzie admitted truthfully. "This is my...first time here. I want to look around."

She waited, biting her lower lip and hoping that the security guard was convinced. If he didn't let her through...

"Fair enough," he said. "Did you bring any fruit with you?"

"No."

"Anything to declare?"

"Um...no."

"Proceed."

He disappeared, and Suzie let out a huge sigh of relief as she continued forwards.

The girl gasped when she took in the sight before her. It was like a huge train station – similar style to the huge one in New York – and everywhere she looked there were characters from various games, wandering around or talking to one another. She was surprised to see heroes chatting with villains, although she supposed that if they weren't working, there was no reason for them to be bad.

Suzie's blue eyes began to scan the many archways which she guessed led to the different games, reading the names above. _Tappers_, _Mortal Kombat_, _Street Fighter_, _Hero's Duty_, _Sugar Rush_, _Fix-It Felix Jr_...

"Hey there!"

Suzie jumped with a startled yelp, turned to run...and ended up colliding into the one who had addressed her. But whoever it was, they were built like a brick wall, and she bounced back off them before stumbling backwards.

She was able to keep her balance and prevent herself from falling, and raised a hand to straighten her nose out, which had suffered the full impact. While she was doing this her eyes caught sight of the character's very familiar bare feet...and with her hand still on her nose, she froze and slowly looked up as her eyes grew wider.

Standing before her, in the flesh, was Wreck-It Ralph.

* * *

When he'd heard the familiar sound of the alarm, Ralph had instinctively paused with an annoyed sigh; he couldn't work out why it was always _him_ getting stopped by the Surge Protector, even after the whole _Sugar Rush_ fiasco. But when he'd looked around, he'd realized that he wasn't even passing under an archway.

Surprised that someone else was getting stopped for once, Ralph had scanned the nearby archways to see who'd been stopped. His eyes had eventually fallen upon the arch leading towards the game _Escape from the Ninth Realm Prison_, which caught his interest. The game had been plugged in for a year, and yet, no one had ever come out.

He'd kept his attention on the person who was being questioned by the Surge Protector; it was a girl, human looking, and seemed to be towards the end of her teen years by outside-player standards. Her hair was blonde and her eyes were blue...and something seemed familiar about her. Ralph couldn't put his finger on it, but it was like he'd seen her somewhere before...

She'd looked rather hesitant about being questioned, like she was hiding something, and had kept on glancing over her shoulder at the game she'd come from. She was eventually let through, and had made her way into the station; her eyes had widened with wonderment as she'd taken in the sights around her.

Ralph, still sure he'd seen this girl somewhere before, then approached her. There was really no harm in going to greet her.

* * *

Suzie didn't know whether to freak out or geek out.

A character from one of her favourite games was standing before her, and she had no idea what to say. She recalled fun nights in when she and Mina would make fun of fans meeting their idols and favourite actors for the first time; how they would trip over their own words or just stare dumbly until the meeting was over.

Now she didn't find it so funny.

What kept her from completely diving into geeky gamer mode was the kind look upon Ralph's face. It was not the one full of rage during game play; it was one full of caring and compassion, and despite his height and build, he didn't look intimidating at all.

"Are you OK?" he asked, seemingly picking up on her uncertainty.

"Yeah, yeah! I'm...fine!" Suzie lied. "Peachy! It's just...been a weird day for me...and all. So...you're Ralph!"

Suzie inwardly cursed herself over and over for looking and sounding ridiculous in front of the character. Ralph just sent her a raised eyebrow.

"So you came from that new game, huh?" he said. "Why now? None of you ever came out before."

"That's because...we never felt like it," Suzie lied again. "And now you're probably wondering how I know who you are. Well...there's a very good explanation...for that...um..."

"You saw my game across the arcade?"

"Yes! Yes! That's exactly the explanation...I meant," said Suzie – a bit _too_ desperately, she realized, and inwardly face-palmed.

There was an awkward pause between them.

"So, uh...what's your name?" asked Ralph.

"It's...Suzie. Suzie Dawn."

Ralph gave her an odd look.

"I apologize if I'm crossing the line here, but," Ralph began, "you look really familiar, and you name sounds familiar, too. Are you sure you haven't been here before?"

"Trust me, I haven't," said Suzie, glad to be telling the truth for a moment.

Another alarm went off, and Suzie looked behind her back at the entrance to the game...only to gasp and leap behind Ralph for protection.

Several of the guards had finally caught up, and had been pulled over by the holographic security guard for questioning. Ralph looked down at her, then at the guards, and then down at her again with a puzzled look.

"Are you hiding from those guys?" he asked.

"Yes. And it's a long story, but you need to hide me," she told him.

"Why?"

Suzie looked up at him again. His expression was one of concern, and his brown eyes showed a kindness Suzie had never seen before. Something within her said that she could trust him; she didn't know whether this something was her heart or the logical side of her brain, but she decided to follow it. After all, she needed help, and she knew she wasn't going to get it by lying.

"OK, here's the thing," she began. "I know you're not gonna believe me, but it's true. I'm not actually from that game; I'm not from _any_ of these games because I come from the arcade. The real world. I work there; helping the kids out, cleaning up and all that, but I won't go into the details. Long story short, that game somehow sucked me inside and they're trying to keep me prisoner against my will."

She bit her lip, hoping that Ralph would believe her, and also dreading the possibility of him laughing in her face. The character turned to face her fully and looked at her, really hard. Then his eyes widened slightly in understanding.

"I recognize you now," he said. "You _are_ from out there. But how did those guys get you in _here_?"

"I don't know," said Suzie. "But they did the same thing to my friend, Mina, a year before. They still have her, and I need help to get her out."

Behind them, the guards were finally allowed through the archway and began to look around the station for Suzie. Seeing this, Ralph made a decision.

"Come with me."

Before Suzie could protest, he swept her up with one arm and carried her across the station at a run, hurrying towards another archway leading to a game. Reading the words above the arch, Suzie realized where they were heading; it was his home game, _Fix-It Felix Jr_.

"Hey, kid! Come on!" Ralph suddenly yelled.

Suzie looked to the right and saw another familiar face hurrying towards them; it was Vanellope Von Schweetz, the young president of _Sugar Rush_, with a princess crown upon her head. She gave Suzie an odd look, but before she could ask Ralph what was going on, the alarm went off as they passed under the arch. Ralph kept on running, but Vanellope paused to speak with the security guard.

"Will she be OK?" Suzie asked.

"Yeah, Surge Protector doesn't question Vanellope," Ralph informed her.

Suzie peered over the character's shoulder, and like he said, Surge Protector was letting her pass without question. None of the guards appeared to be following them, thankfully.

They only stopped running when they were safely in the train; Ralph placed Suzie in one carriage while he took up the one behind. Vanellope sat herself down next to Suzie.

"So what's going on?" she asked. "And who's this?"


	5. New Friends

OK, I seriously apologize for the wait. I'm just gonna stop promising that I'll update soon when it's clear that I won't.

But this time I'll be able to. Why? Because I've got the next three chapters pre-written. My internet's been running really slow lately (we need a new box; one's on the way), and it gave me the kick in the butt I needed to turn my attention back to writing.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review! :D

* * *

New Friends

"You were the first gamer to pick me!"

Suzie laughed hesitantly, a little overcome by the nine-year-old's enthusiasm. She, Vanellope and Ralph were still sat in the small train, on their way to _Fix-It Felix Jr_.

"How come?" the gamer asked. "Plenty of people played the game before me; _one_ of them had to have picked you."

"It's kinda a long story," Vanellope admitted.

"Now that I think about it," Ralph spoke up, "you were also the first gamer to unlock the bonus level on my game."

"Oh yeah, I remember!" said Suzie. "Mr. Litwak still can't figure out where that came from. Where _did_ it come from?"

"Long story," said Ralph. "Part of Vanellope's long story, actually."

"Why don't you guys just tell me this long story?" Suzie asked.

"Because it's a _long_ story," said Ralph. "What's happened to you is more important."

Suzie shrugged in agreement, her good mood dampening at the reminder that she was trapped in a video-game world and her friend was in trouble. She hoped there would be time after all this was over to talk with these characters; there were so many questions she wanted to ask them.

The train pulled into the small station, coming to an ungraceful halt as it crashed into the stopper at the end of the track. Vanellope hopped out with Suzie climbing out after her, before Ralph clambered out and almost tipped the entire train over.

"So what now?" asked Suzie.

"We find Felix and Calhoun," said Ralph. "They can help us."

"Calhoun?" questioned Suzie. "As in, Sergeant Calhoun from _Hero's Duty_? What's she doing here?"

"She's with Felix," Ralph replied. "They're kind of, you know, married."

"Wait, you guys have inter-game marriages?" Suzie questioned, surprised. "Cool. How did _that_ one happen, though? Those guys are total opposites."

"Part of the long story," Ralph called over his shoulder as the trio made their way to the main building.

But Suzie paused, thinking, having just remembered something from that first day she'd been allowed to go to the arcade. At the time she'd passed it off as a random malfunction...but having seen what the video-game world was really like...

"Does this 'long story' have anything to do with a one-time cowardly soldier in _Hero's Duty_ who ruined my first game?"

Ralph froze, and although he didn't turn, Suzie could tell that he knew _exactly_ what she was talking about. She could also tell that the subject was an embarrassing one.

"That was you?" he finally asked, turning, and when he saw her fold her arms across her chest and raise an eyebrow, he sighed. "Yeah, that was me. Like I said before..."

"Long story, I get it," said Suzie.

They arrived at the front of the building and went inside. Suzie couldn't see any of the Nicelanders about, so she assumed that they were in Game Central Station (that was what Vanellope had called it, anyway).

"Felix?" Ralph called out. "Calhoun? Where are you guys?"

They climbed the stairs all the way to the top, reaching the penthouse, and that was when they heard murmurs and sighs coming from within.

"What are they doing?" asked Vanellope.

Ralph went to open the door. Too late did Suzie work out _exactly_ what the couple were doing in there, and she was unable to prevent Ralph from opening the door – and revealing a very private scene.

"Oh! Guys! Seriously?!"

Felix and Calhoun were lying on the couch, with the former on top of the latter, and when Ralph had entered the room both had been locked in a deep kiss. Calhoun's armour was scattered around the room, leaving her only in a white vest and brown hot-pants, while Felix's hat, gloves and belt had been removed, with his shirt also undone.

Upon Ralph's exclamation, the two hurriedly attempted to leap to their feet – Calhoun moving faster, which caused Felix to topple to the floor. Ralph covered Vanellope's eyes with his large hand to prevent her from seeing anything inappropriate (although she tried to look through the gaps between his fingers), while Suzie couldn't contain herself and fell into a fit of giggles.

"Guys, when you said you were going to be spending the night together, I didn't think you meant _this_," Ralph spoke up, once Felix had buttoned up his shirt. "A warning would have been nice."

"_I_ would've been able to predict this, Stink-Brain!" Vanellope said, pushing Ralph's hand away.

"When adults say they're gonna spend the night together, Ralph, this is _always_ what they mean," Suzie added to that.

At the sound of the new voice, the embarrassed couple finally turned their attention to Suzie.

"Who's the new girl?" asked Felix.

Calhoun walked up to Suzie in what could only be described as a condescending manner, and the girl slunk back behind Ralph in order to avoid the tall woman's gaze. While she'd always thought Sergeant Calhoun was awesome, she (at the time) was also thankful that the character wasn't real; the soldier was incredibly intimidating, and a little scary.

"What business you got here, Moppet Girl?" asked the sergeant.

"Tamora, give her a break," Ralph tried to explain. "She's had a rough day."

"And I don't have moppet hair anymore!" Suzie spoke up.

Calhoun smirked, and then it dawned upon Suzie what had happened; Calhoun shouldn't have known to use her nickname...unless the woman knew who she was. It surprised her, to say the least.

"Nothing gets past me," said Calhoun.

"Then how did this big lug get past you that time?" Vanellope wondered aloud, gesturing to Ralph with her thumb.

If Calhoun was going to comment on that, Felix spoke up before she could.

"Wait, so you're that girl who helps out at the arcade?" he asked.

"Yeah," Suzie replied. "How I got here is...kinda a long story."

"Longer than ours?" asked Ralph.

"Not as long," Suzie admitted. "You see, my friend Mina went missing a year ago."

"We knew about that," Felix said. "She was Litwak's granddaughter."

"Yeah, that's right," Suzie continued. "She'd been playing on that new game _Escape from the Ninth Realm Prison_; I didn't think that had anything to do with her disappearance, but now..."

"What happened?" asked Vanellope.

"I was playing it," said Suzie. "One last game, you know? But when I reached the bonus level, something happened. Somehow the game sucked me inside, and once in there I was captured. They were going to put me in a deep sleep, where I would stay until someone won the game. That's where I found Mina; she was in a deep sleep. I was able to break free from the guys who had me, but I couldn't get to Mina; I had to leave so I had a fighting chance and then go back for her. I hopped onto a train which took me to the station."

"And those guys are probably still looking for you," Ralph realized.

"Something's going on here," said Suzie. "I don't think anyone would make a game like this and then not tell people about what it can do."

"A conspiracy, huh?" said Calhoun.

"Never really thought of the possibility of a video-game conspiracy, but it does sound like it," said Suzie. "I want to go back for Mina, but I can't go alone. Can you guys help?"

"We'll help in any way we can, Suzie," said Ralph, gently placing a large hand on her shoulder.

Suzie looked up at him, saw his warm smile...and quickly looked away again so he didn't see the blush creeping across her face.

"First thing's first," said Calhoun, "do you have any combat training?"

"Combat training?"

"You may be good at these games from the _outside_, but on the _inside_, it's a different story," Calhoun explained. "Looks like I'm gonna have to give you a bit of training."

"Training?" Suzie questioned. "But the arcade closes tomorrow; I don't have time to train!"

"In the video-game world, training doesn't take long," said Calhoun. "You'll see. Fix-It, with me; we need to get some training equipment from my game."

Calhoun refitted her armour to her person before she and Felix made their way out the door.

"While you cross the station, keep a look out for the guards from that game," said Ralph. "They're trolls; shouldn't be hard to spot."

"They look like you, then?" Vanellope teased.

But instead of teasing back like he usually would have done, Ralph's gaze turned towards Suzie; she'd sat herself down at the penthouse bar, inspecting a drink in her hands. Ralph didn't dare take a seat on the stools, and instead stood next to her.

"So you wanna hear that long story?" he asked.

"Sure," replied Suzie with a smile.

Vanellope just watched them, unmoving from her position while wondering what had just happened. Ralph _never_ turned down an opportunity to playfully tease her – and she didn't like that he had.

* * *

I'll upload the next chapter tomorrow. Please review! :D


	6. Rescue Mission

Rescue Mission

After the final push-up, Suzie allowed herself to collapse onto her stomach, panting heavily and resting her aching arms.

"That good enough for you?" she spluttered, glaring up at the watching Calhoun.

"I'm satisfied," said the soldier. "You're better than I expected you'd be."

"Yeah, me too," said Suzie. "Never thought I'd be able to do a thousand push-ups, two thousand sit-ups, run around the building a hundred times and survive on _those_ things."

She pointed towards the insanely large and dangerous-looking training equipment Calhoun had brought over from her game.

"It's the laws of the video-game world," said Felix. "In your world, you wouldn't be able to fix a broken leg with a magical golden hammer."

As this conversation was going on, Ralph was sat on a wall nearby watching, his eyes fixed upon Suzie. They'd all watched her grow over the years; from an avid, fun-loving ten-year-old into the out-going, determined nineteen-year-old with a pretty face...

Ralph shook himself, quickly getting rid of that thought. He didn't know where it had come from, and he knew he shouldn't even be _thinking_ things like that. After all, he was a video-game character and she was from the real world – not to mention that by real world standards, he was over thirty years old, and humans had morals against that kind of thing...

"Ralph?"

He jumped slightly, and turned to find Vanellope sat next to him.

"You have a real knack for doing that, you know, kid?" he said. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering whether you wanted to go to _Tapper's_ later," she said. "You know, after we help Suzie rescue Mina, save the arcade, and all..."

"Yeah, that'll be great," said Ralph, but he really wasn't paying attention; he was once again watching Suzie as Calhoun made her do knee-ups.

Vanellope noticed that her friend was distracted, and after frowning in Suzie's direction – she knew that girl was the source of the distraction – the little girl tried to get Ralph's attention again.

"Then maybe we can visit Sonic and help him collect those gold rings," she suggested.

"Sounds good."

"Then we could go get beat up in _Street Fighter_."

"Sure thing."

"Then we can go die outside our games."

"Yeah, we can do that. Wait, what?"

"Ralph!" Vanellope complained, giving her friend a shove. "You weren't listening to me!"

"Sorry, I was just-"

"Wreck-It! Miss President! Time to go!"

The two turned their heads to where Calhoun was waiting with Felix and Suzie by the train, ready to go. Ralph sighed, relieved that he didn't have to explain to Vanellope, before sliding off the wall and walking towards the group. Vanellope hung back a little, but she followed. And when Ralph began talking to Suzie during the train ride, the nine-year-old remained quiet, unsure what to do now that her friend seemed to have found himself a new "friend".

But she didn't worry too much. After all, once they rescued Mina, Suzie would be gone.

* * *

"There weren't many before," said Calhoun as they climbed out of the train. "I think most of them have gone to investigate some of the games. Good thing they haven't searched this one yet."

She was talking about the trolls, and she was right; there were very few left in the station, most of them having gone into the other games in search for Suzie like she said.

"It doesn't matter how many there are out here," said Suzie. "We still need to get inside the game without being detected."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" asked Ralph.

As he asked this, Suzie noticed a troll walking towards their game, most likely to investigate, and it gave her an idea.

"Hey, have you guys seen any of the movies from my world?" she asked.

"Some," said Vanellope.

"How about _The Wizard of Oz_?"

* * *

"Never thought I'd be doing this again," Ralph muttered to himself, adjusting the troll's jacket around him and hoisting a large sack over his shoulder.

That sack contained the other four, who were all curled up together in an uncomfortable position.

"Hey, Soldier Lady! Get that gun outta my face before it fires!"

"Honey, if you leaned a little to the right, I could give you a kiss on the-"

"Can it, Fix-It!"

"Guys! Sacks don't talk! Be quiet!"

"It's not our fault we don't pass for trolls! Stink-Brain can get in without a problem."

"I heard that!" Ralph hissed at the sack, gaining a few confused glances from the few characters within earshot.

They arrived outside their destination, and hoisting the sack further over his shoulder, Ralph tried to look as casual as possible as he passed by the two trolls on either side of the archway.

"At ease, gentlemen," said Ralph, giving them both a salute with his free hand.

Both trolls sent him a brief look of confusion, but they didn't say anything nor did they suspect a thing, and Ralph climbed onto the train without incident.

* * *

Arriving at the game's station, Ralph hurried off it and found a place to hide. Once he was certain the coast was clear, he opened up the sack and allowed its four occupants out; all were gasping for breath.

"It smells like Ralph in there!" Vanellope complained.

"Hey! I take offence to that!" said the wrecker.

"I thought it smelt quite nice," said Suzie. "It was a bit stuffy, though."

"Wait, did you just say that I smell nice?"

"If you two love-birds are done," Calhoun spoke up, her comment making both Ralph and Suzie blush, "we need to get moving. Outsider, can you remember the way?"

"I was running so fast and in such a blind panic, I can't be certain," Suzie admitted. "But I'll give it a shot."

"Give it a shot," Vanellope mimicked mockingly. "That won't help us if we get caught."

"We don't exactly have a better idea," said Ralph. "Lead the way, Suzie."

Suzie made her way towards the tunnel leading to the game, Calhoun taking up position beside her. Ralph got behind Suzie while Felix got behind Calhoun, while Vanellope was left at the back of the group; she huffed and stuck her hands in her front pockets.

Despite what Suzie said, she was able to retrace her steps back through the prison, and was able to do so undetected; most of the troll guards were gone, still out looking for her, while the few which remained were either distracted or were easy to get by.

They finally arrived outside the metal door leading to Mina, and remembering what the trolls did before, Suzie pressed the button on the front. But nothing happened. She pressed it a second time, and then went to do it a third time before Calhoun stopped her.

"It's probably code sensitive," she explained. "Only trolls can open it."

"Then how do we get inside undetected?" asked Suzie.

"I think going undetected will have to be scrapped," said Calhoun. "Wreck-It, get the door."

"My pleasure."

He raised his fists, and with a mighty blow, he sent the door flying across the room. Alarms instantly sounded, and the five hurried inside towards the glass dome which held Mina. Remembering what the trolls had said before, Suzie pressed the red button, and the glass slid off.

"Mina! Mina, wake up!" Suzie tried calling, shaking her friend.

But Mina didn't wake.

"It probably takes time for the effects of that machine to wear off," said Calhoun. "We need to go, now!"

Suzie tried to grab her friend and sling her over her shoulder...but then Ralph grabbed them both and held them in one arm, while he grabbed Vanellope with his free hand and placed her onto his shoulder.

"What now?" asked Felix.

"We need to get to the transporter room," said Suzie. "Then Mina and I can get back to our own world. But what about you guys? Will you be able to escape?"

"Piece of cake," said Calhoun, loading her large gun.

They hurried out the room, Suzie directing them, and it wasn't long before they came across a group troll guards. Calhoun shot down a fair number, Felix used his speed and hopping abilities to confuse them, and Ralph smashed his way through not just trolls, but walls too.

With holes in the walls, it wasn't long before they found a way to the transporter room. The weird blue light was still on, and next to it were a set of controls which Suzie hadn't seen before.

"That must be where they control the transporter device," she realized, after Ralph placed her and Mina down.

"Then stand by that blue light, and we'll take it from here," said Calhoun.

She was about to place her gun down, but thought better of it when several trolls arrived outside the door. The five of them backed up in defence, towards the blue light, and Ralph made sure to keep Suzie and the unconscious Mina behind him.

Suzie gasped when the Prison Warden entered, hands behind his back and not even looking the slightest bit worried. In fact, he was smirking at the group.

"Ah, more prisoners to keep in," he said, examining them all up and down, one by one. "You'll all be quite the challenge. I like a good challenge."

"You're overconfidence is suicidal if you think you can hold us here," said Calhoun.

The Warden chuckled as he moved over to the controls.

"Now, now, let us not have anymore violence," he said. "Just allow me to shut down the controls, and then you can all come quietly."

Calhoun took several shots at him, and the Prison Warden – showing fear and anger for the first time – leapt out the way. The shots missed him by inches, and instead, hit the controls.

There was a flash of light before everything went dark.


	7. The Real World

I'm not sure if anything like this has been done before; if it has, I'd like to read it!

I hope you all enjoy and don't forget to review!

* * *

The Real World

When Suzie awoke, she was back in the arcade. She sighed with relief; whatever Calhoun had done, it had worked. Gazing out the window she saw that it was morning, and realized that she'd been missing all night. Kerri was probably worried.

"I'm gonna get a lecture," she sighed, attempting to get to her feet.

She then noticed Mina, who was still out cold, so knelt down to try and revive her...but froze when she saw a familiar figure out the corner of her eye. She turned, very slowly, and those eyes widened further when she saw three other familiar figures with the first.

"Oh no."

Ralph, Vanellope, Felix and Calhoun were all lying unconscious on the floor, and what was more, they didn't look like themselves. Ralph wasn't as big as he'd been in the game (but he was still big by human standards), nor were his hands freakishly huge compared to his body. Vanellope hadn't changed much, other than she was a little taller and there were no sweets stuck in her hair. Felix was still short, but not as short as before, and his nose wasn't as round. And Calhoun was shorter, but still tall, and her armour was gone; instead she wore the white vest and brown hot-pants from before. Her gun was gone, too.

"Great, they've been real-afied," Suzie said aloud. "They're not gonna like that. I have to get them back."

She hurried over to the game, only to find the screen blank. After checking that it was properly plugged in and switched on, she pressed random buttons in an attempt to make it do something. But nothing happened; the screen remained blank. She sighed in irritation.

"It must have broke when Calhoun shot it," she said. "Great. Now I have a friend who's been missing for a year, four video-game characters who've been brought to life, and an explanation which will earn me a place in an asylum. Things can't get any worse."

When she heard Mr. Litwak and Clinton Crow outside the arcade, she wished she hadn't said that.

The characters were her top priority, so without wasting any time, she grabbed Vanellope first and dragged her over to a closet. Felix was next, then Calhoun, and then Ralph; Ralph was the hardest for obvious reasons, and Suzie thought she wouldn't get him inside in time.

Thankfully Mr. Litwak became distracted at the door. Suzie hadn't locked up the night before since she'd been, you know, sucked into a game, so Mr. Litwak had locked the door by accident, and then had to _unlock_ it again.

"You need to hire better help," Suzie heard Clinton say. "Someone could have broken in."

"There's no harm done," she heard Mr. Litwak say in response. "All the games are here."

Suzie turned to see Mina on the floor. She couldn't tell anyone what had _really_ happened; the girl was sure that not even Mr. Litwak would believe her. She also had to explain why she was in the arcade this early, and why she hadn't locked up.

The girl came up with a solution for all three when the two men came closer.

She screamed.

The two men came running in an instant, and spotting her, Mr. Litwak opened his mouth to speak...but then froze when he saw Mina on the floor.

"MINA!"

He was instantly by her side, cradling her and thanking the heavens that she was safe as tears of happiness fell from his eyes. It was then that Mina finally awoke, blinking repeatedly and murmuring in confusion.

"What...?"

"Mina, what happened?" Mr. Litwak demanded.

"I...I don't...remember..." she said.

Suzie inwardly sighed. She was glad that Mina didn't remember; not only would it save her from explaining – and save both of them trips to a doctor – but this way Mina didn't remember the horrors which had happened to her.

"I'm so happy that you've found your granddaughter," said Clinton, approaching the old man from behind. "Now about that contract..."

Mr. Litwak immediately took the contract from his pocket and ripped it to pieces.

"Forget it!" he said. "My granddaughter is alive, and that's all that matters to me! How can you still be thinking about that when this has happened?!"

"I have a busy schedule-"

"You know what? Get out," Mr. Litwak demanded. "You're not getting the arcade; it belongs to my granddaughter. Now leave."

Clinton looked at Mina, then at the new game, and then at Suzie, before turning on his heel and storming out. His expression, Suzie noticed, had been a mixture of shock and anger, and it made her suspicious – especially since he'd looked directly at the game responsible for all that had happened.

Further thoughts were disrupted by Mr. Litwak helping the confused Mina to her feet.

"Come, Mina," he told her. "Let's take you into my office so we can call the cops. You too, Suzie."

Suzie went to follow, but then she remembered her four friends locked in the closet and hesitated.

"I'll wait here," she said. "I just need time to...process what just happened."

Mr. Litwak nodded in understanding before leading Mina towards his office. It was only when she heard the office door shut did Suzie hurry over to the closet, and when she was stood right outside it she heard the voices of her friends coming from inside; they'd woken up.

Taking a deep breath, she unlocked and opened the door, hurriedly side-stepping to avoid the characters as they tumbled out. Ralph was on the bottom of the heap with Calhoun lying sideways across him; Felix landed on his wife's behind (causing his cheeks to go red when he realized), and Vanellope landed on Ralph's head.

"Are you guys OK?" Suzie asked.

"We're fine," said Ralph, his voice muffled by Vanellope. "Hey, kid, can you get off my face?"

"Sorry, Ralph."

They all clambered to their feet.

"What in creation happened?" asked Felix.

"Do you want the long story?" Suzie asked back with a smirk.

"Very funny. I prefer the short one," said Ralph.

"OK," said Suzie. "You're in the real world. Take a look at yourselves."

The four of them froze, staring at Suzie disbelievingly, before they all dared to look down at themselves. Their eyes widened, and for a moment they were speechless. But moments never last for long.

"My hands!"

"What happened to the sweets in my hair?!"

"I'm taller!"

"My armour! My gun!"

Suzie let them voice their shock for a few moments more before she whistled to get their attention.

"Guys, don't panic," she assured them. "What you're feeling now is exactly how I felt when I got sucked into the video-game world. Everything will be fine."

"Oh, good," said Ralph with a sigh. "Can that game take us back?"

"Yeah, about that...the game's broken."

The smiles on their faces immediately vanished.

"How?" Vanellope demanded.

"Miss Competent Soldier shot the control panel," Suzie explained. "I think that's what caused all of us to leave the game, and what caused it to go bust."

The other three turned to glare at Calhoun...but shrank away again when she glared back.

"So we're stuck here," said Vanellope.

"Pretty much," said Suzie. "At least until the game gets fixed."

"But what if they can't fix it?" Felix asked, his eyes growing wide. "What if we're stuck here _forever?!_"

"Get a hold of yourself, Fix-It!" Calhoun yelled, slapping him across the face.

Felix instinctively took out his hammer and hit his face...but instead of fixing it, the hammer only caused him more pain.

"Yeah, and those kind of rules aren't gonna work here," said Suzie. "But remember there's always a flip side to every coin."

"Yeah, and what's that?" Ralph demanded.

"The good news: Mina was reunited with her grandfather, and the arcade isn't closing down."

"Suzie! The cops are on their way!" came Mr. Litwak's voice.

The girl bit her lip, closed her eyes and sighed.

"But now for more bad news: The cops are coming, and I'm gonna have to ask you guys to hide in the closet again."

* * *

**Don't forget to review! :D**


	8. Foster Home

Almost all of the chapter's are pre-written now; just one more to write, and then the story will be finished. All that'll be left is to upload them all, which I'll do one day at a time.

I hope you all enjoy this one and don't forget to review!

* * *

Foster Home

Before the cops arrived, Suzie checked the security tapes and discovered what she'd already suspected – there was nothing on them. They had gone blank before she'd arrived there the night before. It had been the same when Mina had disappeared, and she wondered if the game had somehow done this.

By the time the cops _did_ arrive, she'd gotten her story straight; she'd come in early in the morning, just moments before Mr. Litwak, because she'd forgotten her red work apron (which was technically true). Then she'd found Mina lying on the floor. With no security footage and no other explanation, the cops believed her. She was questioned on other things – if she'd seen anyone suspicious in the area when she arrived, or even during the days before – before the officers finally left with Mr. Litwak and Mina; they wanted to run some tests on her to make sure she was completely unharmed, and if anything could lead them to the truth.

Before Mr. Litwak left, though, Suzie told him that the new game was broken.

"I'll call CC Games tonight and they should send someone to come and look at it tomorrow," he said. "Be here bright and early, Suzie."

Suzie was left to lock up. Once she was certain that everyone was gone, the girl once again opened the closet and allowed the characters to tumble out.

"Why didn't they look in here?" Ralph asked, gesturing to the closet.

"I spent most of my time standing in front of it," Suzie replied. "I don't think they realized there was a closet there, since I was blocking their view."

"So what's happening with the game?" asked Vanellope.

"Well, Mr. Litwak's calling someone in to look at it tomorrow," said Suzie. "It's usually before the arcade opens, so if it's fixed, you'll have time to get back into your world and back into your games before anyone notices you're gone."

"And what if the game _doesn't_ get fixed?" asked Felix.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Suzie assured him. "Right now, you guys need a place to stay, and that place is my place. It's five o'clock now; Kerri's gonna kill me."

"Kerri?" Ralph questioned. "Don't you usually call your parents 'Mum' and 'Dad'?"

"Kerri's not my mum," said Suzie. "She's the social worker who looks after me."

The characters stared at her in silence.

"You mean you live in one of those homes we've heard about?" asked Ralph, looking concerned.

"Hey, it's not an evil orphanage," Suzie informed them. "It's just a place where kids end up when they have nowhere else to go; they get abandoned, their parents can't look after them... I've been there since I was a baby. It can get hectic sometimes – well, _all_ the time – but it's fine. Now let's go; it'll be around dinner time, so we should be able to sneak in unnoticed."

* * *

Suzie was right; it was dinner time, and the shouts and laughter of the kids could be heard from down the road. Suzie parked her car on the side of the road and got out as quietly as she could, followed by her new friends. She was thankful for the cover of nightfall.

She opened the door silently; thankfully the dining room was at the other end of the house, so no one would see her or the others creep up the stairs. Upon closing the door, Suzie signalled for the others to follow her up to her room. Things were going well...

...until Ralph trod on another social worker's cat, which screeched in pain.

Suzie cringed, before getting behind her friends and pushing them all towards her room. She bundled them inside and slammed the door shut, before leaning against the wall and closing her eyes. She prayed that Kerri hadn't heard...

"Suzie! Is that you?"

Suzie cursed under her breath as she heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Hide!" she instructed the others.

Calhoun immediately dived under the bed, while Felix and Vanellope climbed in the cupboards under the desk. Ralph panicked, not sure where to hide, and rolling her eyes Suzie shoved him into the closet.

"Not another closet!" was all he said before she shut the door in his face.

Just in time, too, for a second later Kerri opened the bedroom door and stared the nineteen-year-old down.

"You know, calling and telling me you're OK would have been nice," she said. "You've been gone for almost twenty-four hours! I almost called the cops!"

"Then why didn't you?" asked Suzie.

"I had a lot to deal with, and last night I thought maybe you were with Mr. Litwak," Kerri explained. "He was your friend's grandfather, after all, and he was selling his pride and joy. I know you, Suzie; you would have been comforting him."

"Yeah, I was," Suzie lied.

"This morning I was going to get an officer round, but then I switched on the news and saw that Mina had been found," Kerri continued. "I really am happy you have your friend back, Suzie, and I know you're nineteen now. But please call me next time, OK?"

"OK, I will, and I'm sorry," said Suzie. "I'll come down for dinner when everything's quietened down."

"Wise move," said Kerri with a smile, before she left the room.

Suzie quickly shut the door behind her before leaning up against it, letting out a sigh. Hearing that the older woman was gone, Felix and Vanellope climbed out of the cupboards while Calhoun crawled out from under the bed.

"Hey! Can somebody help me out here?" came Ralph's cries from the closet.

Sighing, Suzie strode over and opened the door...only for Ralph to tumble out and land partly on top of her, leaving them in a very awkward – and very suggestive – position.

For a moment they just stared at each other, unable to comprehend what was going on exactly, and yet, unable to move from their current position. It was like their minds had locked and they couldn't find the key, and after moments of silence passed thoughts raced through their heads; things were moving to fast, they were from two different worlds, they were different ages, they barely knew each other...

And yet, all those thoughts seemed to fade into nothing as the gaze continued. None of those thoughts mattered, all of those problems could be solved... Their faces were growing closer together...

"Hey!"

Suddenly Vanellope was there between them, trying to get Ralph's attention.

"You're gonna squash her if you're not careful, you smelly gorilla!" she told her friend.

This seemed to bring the two to their senses, and Ralph climbed to his feet before offering a hand to Suzie, which she took. They both turned to find Felix and Calhoun smirking at them both.

"Looks like you two have the honey-glows!" said Felix.

Ralph tried to hide his face while Suzie distracted herself with bigger issues; she opened up the laptop on her desk and began typing something into the search engine.

"CC Games?" Ralph questioned, peering over her shoulder.

"They made that Escape game," said Suzie, clicking the enter button. "I just wanna check something. It'll take a while, though; our internet's insanely slow."

There was a quiet knock at the door, and Suzie smiled when she realized who it was; only one person knocked that quietly. She got up from her desk and opened the door, a smile on her face...

...but that smile disappeared when she saw Warren snatch Jacob's teddy bear from his grasp, laughing at him.

Suzie didn't think what she was doing; all she knew was that she was angry, and that she'd had enough of this boy picking on the younger kids. She took one step forward and brought her fist up, allowing it to collide with Warren's mouth. The boy was sent flying across the hallway, hitting the wall with a loud crash and collapsing to the floor, the teddy bear falling from his grasp. Suzie picked the bear up and gave it back to Jacob, before she allowed him to hurry into her room.

"If you EVER do that again, I'll make you _wish_ your parents never gave you up!" Suzie yelled at the thirteen-year-old on the floor.

Warren looked up at her, his expression a mixture of confusion and fear. She didn't blame him; she'd never used violence before when defending Jacob. All she'd ever done was move the smaller boy behind her and dared Warren to try hitting her. But she'd had enough, and after the day she'd had, she lost control.

Sending him one final glare, Suzie turned and slammed her door shut – and only then did she remember the four video-game characters in her room.

Jacob was staring at them, wide eyed, unsure what to make of these strange-looking people in Suzie's room. But Jacob also had a good memory, and these people looked an awful lot like the characters in the games Suzie played; she'd shown them to him on a special trip to the arcade.

Seeing the little boy's hesitance, Suzie came up beside him and took his hand in hers, squeezing it gently.

"Jacob, do you remember when I took you to the arcade, and showed you my three favourite games?" she asked him.

"Yes," he replied. "Are they the people from them?"

"They are," Suzie answered. "This is Ralph, Felix, Vanellope and Calhoun."

Jacob gave them a shy wave.

"So he's one of the other kids here," said Ralph; it wasn't a question.

"He's the only kid here who matters to me," said Suzie. "He's seven and short for his age; someone has to look out for him."

At this, Felix cautiously stepped towards the boy, careful not to startle him.

"You know, little guy, I'm short for my age, too," he said.

"Really?" asked Jacob, gaining some confidence. "How old are you?"

"I'm over thirty years old," replied Felix. "Do you like building things? I do too, but my magical hammer doesn't work here..."

The conversation continued, enough for Jacob to let go of Suzie's hand and step closer to Felix. Calhoun crouched down next to them and joined in, and stepping back, Suzie observed them. They looked like the perfect little family.

Her laptop beeped, and turning back to it, Suzie saw that the search results had finally loaded. Clicking on the first one, leading to the company website, she sat down and waited for it to load. As she did, Ralph and Vanellope gathered around her, also waiting. When the website finally loaded, Suzie could only stare.

"I don't believe it," she swore.

"What?" asked Ralph.

"That guy there?" she said, pointing to the man on the screen. "That's Clinton Crow. He's the one who was going to buy the arcade from Mr. Litwak. And according to this website, he also owns CC Games."

* * *

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	9. CC Games

I've got all the chapters pre-written now! It's just smooth uploading from here on out!

* * *

CC Games

Later that evening Suzie walked down the stairs with Jacob in her arms; all the other kids were asleep, as were most of the social workers. Kerri was the only one still awake, sat in her office on her laptop. Suzie knocked on her open door.

"What is it, Suzie?" asked Kerri.

"Jacob can't sleep," the girl replied. "Is it all right if I take him out for a drive? You used to do the same with me, and it always helped me sleep."

Kerri glanced at Jacob, who was yawning and rubbing his eyes tiredly, and sighed.

"You can go," she said. "But don't be out for too long."

Suzie nodded in thanks before she walked back over to the stairs. She looked over her shoulder to check that the coast was clear, before knocking on the banister four times. Moments later, her four friends crept down the stairs, Ralph being extra careful this time.

Once at the bottom of the stairs, they slipped out the front door. They then hurried over to Suzie's car; Ralph climbed into the front passenger seat while the rest piled into the back, and Suzie helped Jacob into his car seat.

"You, little man," she told him, "are a good actor."

"I've been practising," said the boy with a smile, no longer looking tired.

Suzie climbed into the driver's seat and started up the car, before pulling away into the night.

"So explain to us again; who is this Clinton guy?" asked Ralph.

"Well," Suzie began, "a few months before Mina went missing, Clinton approached Mr. Litwak and asked him how much he would take for the arcade. Mr. Litwak told him straight out that the arcade wasn't for sale, and never will be; Mina was going to inherit it when he retired."

"So what's that got to do with him owning the company that made the game?" asked Felix.

"Think about it," said Suzie. "He shows up in town with his company out of the blue and gives Mr. Litwak the game; the _same game_ which can suck people into it, holding them prisoner. Mina goes missing, no one's left to inherit the arcade, and who shows up with the biggest offer to buy it?"

"But who could be desperate enough to resort to kidnapping in such a manner in order to get an arcade?" Calhoun questioned.

"Him, apparently," said Suzie. "All we need to do is search the company building, confirm it's actually him who's responsible and find evidence to support it. If we can't prove the bit about the video-game, then we can at least prove he kidnapped Mina."

"I know he kidnapped your friend, and all," said Vanellope, "but don'cha think it's a little dangerous going in there?"

"Kidnapping is a crime, and since it was my friend he kidnapped I have a personal score to settle," Suzie replied. "Besides, he's already proven he's desperate enough to do this; Mina showing up again isn't going to stop him that easily."

After ten minutes of driving the car arrived outside the large building; the name '_CC Games_' was written on the front. Upon surveying the situation, Suzie decided to park her car in the wide alleyway next to the building, so as not to draw any attention from anyone who could still be inside.

"So what's the plan?" asked Ralph.

"You, me, Felix and Calhoun will go inside and investigate," said Suzie. "Vanellope can stay here with Jacob and also monitor the area."

She handed the girl a walkie-talkie; Vanellope just look put out.

"Why can't I come instead?" she asked.

"Because we don't know what we'll be up against in there," said Suzie. "Remember this guy has the power to create a way to travel between your world and mine; who knows what else he's capable of? Out of the four of you, you're the only one who doesn't have some form of defence."

"I can drive?" she insisted, hopping into the driver's seat.

"Yeah, but in this world, nine-year-old's don't drive," Suzie pointed out. "But if it becomes absolutely necessary, and you think you can do it, get Jacob out of here and back home. You got it?"

"Got it!" said Vanellope with a salute.

Suzie tossed her the keys before closing the door. She led the other three over to a side door, and upon trying it, the girl discovered that it was locked. Sighing, she took out a hair pin and jammed it in the lock; it worked, and the door opened.

"Where'd you learn that?" asked Ralph.

"From a boy who used to live in the foster home with me," she replied. "He left when he turned eighteen."

They crept inside, and Suzie quietly shut the door behind them. The building was dark apart from a few lights which flickered on and off, and keeping to the shadows as much as possible, the four of them made their way through the many hallways before them.

Upon reaching the top floor, they discovered a large room with a single desk in the centre.

"This must be his office," Suzie realized.

Surveying the room, they saw that the walls were covered in plans, calculations and blueprints. Upon closer inspection, the group realized that the plans were of the arcade, changed in a way Suzie couldn't quite understand – at first.

"Seems these calculations made up the equation for the inter-dimensional travel," said Calhoun, after looking them over. "Looks like he's been working on this for years."

"But why?" Ralph questioned. "What's this guy panning on doing with all this?"

"I think I know."

They turned to Suzie, whose face had paled.

"What?" asked Felix.

"Clinton told Mr. Litwak and I that he was intending on shutting down the arcade and turning it into something more modern for the kids," she explained. "On the way here, this didn't make sense; why would he shut down the arcade if he's a game manufacturer? But come and take a look at this."

The other three walked over to where she was standing; it was the final blueprint, the largest of them all. Their eyes widened upon reading all the notes themselves.

"Yes, he's gonna shut down the arcade," she continued, "but instead he's gonna open a new and better arcade – one where kids can travel into the video-game world and play the games that way."

While she was shocked, part of her was also excited; it was every gamer's dream to be able to experience a video-game like that. But when she turned to her friends, she realized they were horrified by this thought.

"Guys?" she asked cautiously. "It isn't _that_ bad...is it?"

"You don't understand, Suzie," said Ralph. "No arcade is like our arcade."

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you think this Clinton guy is obsessed with getting _our_ arcade instead of choosing another one?" he continued. "Our arcade is the only one in the world that has games with lives of their own."

Suzie just stared at him.

"How?"

"We think it's something to do with the building," said Felix. "Something in the electricity or the wires. We're not entirely sure. Point is, games aren't supposed to have lives of their own, yet ours do."

"And somehow, Clinton discovered this," said Calhoun. "And he not only wants to expose us, but he also wants to make money off us."

"Being a sci-fi geek as much as a gamer, I can see how this is bad," said Suzie. "Baffled scientists would want to know how all this happened, and will want to take your games apart. Or the arcade itself apart. So what do we do?"

"All these plans have to be destroyed," Calhoun decided. "Wreck-It?"

But before Ralph could get to work, they heard voices coming down the hallway outside – and one definitely belonged to Clinton.

"Take cover!" Calhoun commanded.

Ralph dived behind the door, Calhoun grabbed Felix and secured herself against a corner of the ceiling, and Suzie was left to dive under the desk moments before Clinton entered the room...with a familiar figure.

"I would like to thank you, Mr. Crow, for fixing our game," said the Prison Warden; his eyes were no longer red, nor were his ears pointed, and his moustache wasn't as long.

But that didn't make him any less scary, and Suzie covered her mouth with her hand to prevent her gasp from being heard. The two men thankfully left the door open, keeping Ralph from their view.

"You know that it was not a case of sentiment, but of necessity," said Clinton. "Your game is the only game that allows travel between this world and yours, and until I can stabilize the method of travel, the game needs to be functional for as long as I need it."

"Understood, sir."

They walked over to the desk and Clinton sat down; Suzie was forced to hurriedly and quietly change position in order to avoid the man's legs. She held her breath, worried that he'd hear her is she dared let it go.

"I'll be paying Litwak a little visiting tomorrow morning," Clinton informed the Warden. "When the contract is signed – and he'll sign it – you need to be ready to receive him and his granddaughter – and that other kid."

"It will be my pleasure to receive them," said the Warden. "But you said so yourself; unless the bonus level is unlocked, transportation between our two worlds is unstable."

"Right now, I don't care about the stability of the process," said Clinton. "I want them gone, and if they get torn between the two realities, then it doesn't bother me."

Suzie gasped again – and this time, she was unable to cover her mouth. There was a pause as Clinton and the Warden looked around the room, wondering where that noise had come from. It was the Warden who looked under the desk, and seeing Suzie, he grabbed her arm and dragged her out.

"Let me go!"

The girl tried to kick him; she tried to struggle out of his grasp. But the Warden was freakishly strong, and he kept his grip on her as he showed her to Clinton.

"So you're the meddling kid who almost ruined everything for me," he said.

"What is this, Scooby-Doo?" said Suzie, trying not to let her fear show.

"Where are your friends now, little girl?" asked Clinton, smirking.

"Sir," the Warden spoke up, "that's what I needed to explain to you-"

Before he could finish, Ralph leapt out from behind the door.

"Let her go!"

He punched Clinton, sending him flying across the room, before doing the same to the Warden. Suzie stumbled, but Ralph caught her and set her on her feet again.

"We gotta go!" Suzie said.

"Not without destroying these plans first!" said Ralph, before he ran over to the wall closest to him and began to rip apart the various plans and blueprints.

Realizing he was right, Suzie did the same, and Calhoun leapt down from her hiding place to join in. But Felix hung back.

"Fix-It, we could use you're help!" Calhoun called over her shoulder.

"But I only fix everything I touch!" he said back.

"The laws of this world are different to yours, remember?" said Suzie. "Your hammer isn't magic here! In my world, hammers are just as good at wrecking things as they are fixing them!"

Looking down at the hammer in his hand, Felix's expression morphed into determination before he hurried over to the wall which had equations written straight onto it. He hit it with his hammer, and instead of making the wall ten times stronger, his hammer left a gaping hole behind.

At this point, Clinton finally shook off the dizziness from Ralph's punch and looked up to see what the four intruders were doing. His eyes widened with horror.

"NO! My life's work!"

He stumbled to his feet and tried to run at Suzie, but Calhoun just spun around and kicked him, sending him into the wall again. The Warden made a similar attempt, but an upper-cut from Calhoun had him down again.

"Remind me never to get on her bad side," Suzie said to Ralph.

When the same thing happened again, the group realized that tearing the various plans apart was taking too long.

"Looks like we're gonna have to blow the place up," said Calhoun.

She tore out a panel in the wall leading to various wires, and although Suzie couldn't see what she was doing, she knew the results would be messy. This woman was still a soldier, after all, even outside her game.

After giving both Clinton and the Warden a goodbye kick, she ordered an evacuation.

"Vanellope!" Suzie spoke into her walkie-talkie. "Get the car ready! We're coming out! The place is set to blow!"

"_We won't be able to escape!_" Vanellope yelled from the other end. "_Some stupid garbage truck has parked across the exit!_"

"Then get Jacob out of the car and both of you head over to the garbage dump down the road! We'll meet you there!"

The four of them had made it out of the building and were half way down the road when the building exploded.

* * *

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	10. Night in the Dump

A more relaxed chapter this time. I'm not great at writing romance, so I hope this is OK.

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Night in the Dump

The chaos after the explosion allowed the four of them to escape the scene unnoticed, and upon arriving at the dump they saw that Vanellope and Jacob had been able to do the same.

"Suzie!" Jacob yelled, hurrying over to her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Yes, I'm fine," Suzie assured him. "I'm glad you are, too."

"You OK, kid?" Ralph asked Vanellope.

"Yeah, just a little tired from running," she admitted. "Living in this world must stink! Your energy levels never last or regenerate, if you get killed once that's it for you-"

"And there's no awesome abilities or objects," Suzie finished for her. "Trust me, coming from someone who's lived here her entire life, it really sucks. Why do you think I spend most of my time playing video games?"

"Before we go too far off topic," Calhoun spoke up, "we may need to get back to your home, Outsider."

"You're calling me that when you guys are in _my_ world now?" Suzie said back with a raised eyebrow. "And to answer your question, I think we should just stay here for the night."

"In a dump?" Felix questioned.

"I know it sounds like a bad idea," she told them, "but think about it. The Prison Warden was here in this world; how many of his trolls could be in this world, too? And if any of them survived – heck, if Clinton and the Warden even survived – I don't want to lead them back home and put the other kids in danger. Besides, we're closer to the arcade here."

"In that case, Fix-It and I can go looking for some kind of mattress," said Calhoun. "There must be an old one around here somewhere."

"Can I come?" asked Jacob.

"Sure you can, little man!" said Felix.

Jacob looked up at Suzie, who nodded, before he trotted over to Felix. They both followed Calhoun further into the dump.

"I can get started on building a shelter in case it rains," said Ralph. "I've got experience."

"OK, why don't Vanellope and I go looking for mattresses too?" Suzie suggested.

Ralph shrugged and got to work on arranging some nearby junk. Suzie wandered off in the direction opposite to where Calhoun, Felix and Jacob had gone, and after hesitating, Vanellope followed. When the two of them were well away from Ralph and in the middle of their search, Vanellope spoke up.

"Ralph needs to go back into his game, you know."

Suzie turned and sent her a confused look.

"Yes, I know that," she informed the younger girl.

"I'm not sure you do," Vanellope continued. "Otherwise you wouldn't be flirting with him!"

"Flirting?"

"That's right!" Vanellope yelled. "You think you can make him stay here and leave me alone in our world! But I'm onto you, and I won't let you take him from me!"

Suzie just stared at her in confusion...before realization dawned upon her.

"Ah. I see what's going on."

"You...do?" asked Vanellope, the anger vanishing.

"It's the whole 'little sister gets jealous of the big brother's new girl who's a friend' scenario," said Suzie.

"Girl who's a friend?" Vanellope questioned. "Don't you mean 'girlfriend'?"

"No!" Suzie denied. "They're two complete different things! I don't have _those_ kind of feelings for Ralph! That's...ridiculous! It wouldn't work, anyway! We're from two _completely_ different worlds, we're different ages..."

She trailed off when she noticed Vanellope sending her a 'yeah, right' raised eyebrow.

"OK, so I may have a little crush on him," the older girl admitted. "But that doesn't mean I'm trying to stop him from going back with you."

"Oh," said Vanellope, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's OK," Suzie assured her. "Like I said; it's perfectly natural for a little sister to get jealous. I should know; I've been in a similar situation."

"Really?" asked Vanellope, sitting herself on an old couch with Suzie taking a seat next to her.

"I was about your age," Suzie explained. "There was this boy called Danny, who at the time was a little younger than the age I am now. He was like a big brother to me. Then one day he met a girl; her name was Daisy. He started spending a lot of time with her, and I felt left out; forgotten."

"Did you do anything about it?" asked Vanellope.

"I purposely spilt orange juice on her favourite white dress," Suzie admitted. "And I've regretted it ever since. But it did make Danny realize how upset I was about Daisy, and he took me aside. He told me that although he and Daisy were together, that didn't mean he'd forgotten about me. It made me realize just how happy he was with her. Now they're married, and although the past ten years have been hard for them, they both have stable jobs and a son."

As Suzie was telling the story, Vanellope kept her gaze averted to her feet. And when the story was over, she sighed.

"Ralph has been a little...depressed lately, and not just because of the whole 'arcade closing' thing," she said. "He was always staring at Felix and Calhoun; I think he wants that, too. What they have. But he likes you too, you know. Ever since we met you he's been smiling more, like he used to."

Suzie's heart leapt at this...but she pushed the sensation away.

"We all know that it won't work out," she explained. "He lives there, I live here; I'm sure he'll find someone in his own world."

"Unless you're 'the one'," said Vanellope. "And are there rules against you coming with us? Permanently?"

Suzie didn't have an answer to that.

Ralph took that moment to appear.

"Hey! You guys found a couch! That'll work!" he exclaimed.

Both girls looked down at the couch they were sitting on, as if only just realizing it was there.

* * *

Later that evening, Suzie was once again sat upon the same couch, looking up at where she could just see the stars. Jacob, Felix and Calhoun were snuggled on an old mattresses nearby, and Vanellope had curled up in a comfortable-looking basket. Ralph was next to Suzie on the couch, seemingly asleep.

Suzie only noticed that he wasn't when she glanced at him, and found him watching her.

"You not tired?" he asked. "You never slept last night, remember?"

"A lot's...happened," she admitted with a sigh. "And it's all happened so fast. It's...kinda overwhelming, you know?"

"Ah, the adrenalin," Ralph said, sitting himself upright. "Why don't I wait up with you until you drift off?"

"Ralph, it's OK-"

"No, it's cool," he assured her. "Besides, I can't get much sleep, either. This place reminds me too much of...how I used to sleep."

"You mentioned it in your story," said Suzie. "But I can sorta understand."

"How?" he asked. "You live in a home with a roof over your head, and that place looked pretty clean all things considered."

"I know I lived there all my life, but...I was found...here."

Ralph just stared at her.

"You were found..._here?_"

Suzie nodded.

"There have been other kids who were abandoned at birth," she explained. "But whenever they talk about it, they say that they were left on the doorstep of the foster home, or someone else's home. And every time I hear the same story, it makes me realize...their parents cared enough to at least make sure they were safe; that they would be found and taken care of. But I was abandoned here. My parents didn't even _care_ what happened to me."

She bit her lip to prevent the usual tears escaping from her eyes, and when one did she turned away so Ralph didn't see. She then felt the big guy place a gentle hand upon her back.

"You know my back-story," he said. "I know it's only programmed, but the memories are still there. Imagine having a home...and then losing it. At least you found one."

"You did to," she told him, turning to face him again.

"It took thirty years," he admitted. "But it all worked out in the end."

"How can you guys live like that?" Suzie asked. "Knowing you were only created, and that your only purpose is to be played until kids lose interest in you?"

"Well, it was overwhelming at first," Ralph admitted. "At first we didn't figure out what was going on, but when we did, we questioned what we were supposed to do. We learnt a lot about the rules of our world during that time, and eventually got into a routine; it was life, and we had to live with it."

"That sounds kinda sad," Suzie commented.

"Some games just gave up, and got themselves unplugged," Ralph continued. "Others like...like Turbo tried to fight back; tried to get more attention. Each time the other games learnt something. But every day we watched the kids in the arcade, and that was when we realized what our jobs really were: to make them happy. All these kids were having so much fun playing our games, and we didn't want to let them down."

"It's no wonder this arcade is considered one of the best," Suzie realized. "Everyone puts in that extra effort, more than a usual programming can do. But you guys will get back; I'll make sure of it."

"But will _you_ be OK?" he asked; earlier she'd told him about the position she was in.

"I'll manage," she admitted, sending him a bitter-sweet smile.

In response he brought her in closer, allowing her to rest against him, and it was this which helped her to finally drift off to sleep.

* * *

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	11. Arcade Showdown

Second to last chapter. Hope you all enjoy!

* * *

Arcade Showdown

It was morning, and the group of six had left the dump; they were heading towards the arcade.

"I think there was something in that couch," Ralph was saying. "Because whatever it was, it was rammed up my butt."

"Ralph," said Suzie, sending him a glare, "that something was my _foot_."

Vanellope, Felix, Calhoun and even Jacob laughed, while Ralph blushed with embarrassment.

"Yeah, uh... Suzie, are you sure it's OK for us to go in this early?" he asked the girl, trying to change the subject.

"Mr. Litwak's always in this early, and he doesn't mind me coming in this early, either," she explained. "Besides, if there's even a remote chance that Clinton or the Warden survived last night's explosion, we need to warm him. Before things go from bad to worse."

They entered through the front door...and found the place full of troll guards, the Warden holding a gun to Mina's head, and Clinton forcing a contract in Mr. Litwak's face.

"You were saying about things going from bad to worse?" Vanellope said.

"Suzie, run!" Mr. Litwak cried out.

Suzie and her friends turned to run, but the trolls surrounded them. Calhoun went to fight back, but Suzie stopped her.

"Remember, things work differently here," she reminded the woman. "If you get shot, you don't regenerate."

Mr. Litwak and Mina were staring at the four characters in shock.

"Suzie..." Mina began uncertainly. "Are they who I think they are?"

"Yeah, they are," said Suzie. "It's a long story. Kind of funny how everything's a long story these days; you can't explain _anything_ out of context."

"Well, look who showed up," Clinton observed. "About time you all joined the party."

"Zip it, you!" Calhoun snapped. "You mind telling us how you knew about this place? How you knew the games had lives of their own?"

"Oh, I suppose I should," said Clinton. "You see, back when I was a boy, I used to visit this arcade all the time, back when it first opened. I'd visited others too, but this one was by far the best. And I never knew why – until there was an incident with two racing games."

"Turbo," Ralph realized.

"I was there when _Road Blasters_ got plugged in for the first time," Clinton continued. "I was playing _Turbo Time_ when I saw it; I was so excited that I abandoned it in the middle of the game. _Road Blasters_ was new; the graphics were the best I'd ever seen, and I couldn't stop playing it. But the next day when I came in, the game was acting up; for some reason, Turbo was in there – and neither was he in his own game. The two games were unplugged, and my family moved away not long afterwards, but what happened got me thinking."

"That you wanted to trap people inside video-games?" Suzie questioned.

"_That's_ what happened to me?" Mina realized.

"Yes, and it'll happen to you again," said Clinton. "No, I didn't want that. It didn't take me long to figure out that this arcade was special; that its games had lives of their own, and that the characters could travel to games that weren't theirs. And it gave me an idea; what if I could find a way to travel into this world of video-games? It would be a new way of playing, and it would make me rich."

"And you waited for how many years to do this?" asked Ralph. "The Turbo incident happened well over thirty years ago; close to forty."

"I had to wait for the technology to catch up with my idea," Clinton admitted. "Meanwhile I figured out all the equations; all the plans and the blueprints. Then I set to work. _Escape from the Ninth Realm Prison_ was the starting game; the game that would bring kids into the video-game world, but only if they reached the bonus level. Any other method of transportation is still unstable, but I'm getting there."

"And you don't have to go into the whole 'kidnap Mina' part," said Suzie. "I understand that bit perfectly."

"I didn't want to kidnap her," Clinton admitted, "but you all left me no choice. Now, Mr. Litwak, sing that contract; sign over your arcade to me, or your granddaughter dies."

Mr. Litwak looked at Clinton, then at Mina, and then back at Clinton before snatching the pen from his grasp. He was about to sign the contract, but...

"Bad man!" cried Jacob, before throwing his teddy bear at Clinton.

It distracted the trolls for a moment, but a moment was all that was needed; Calhoun leapt at the two trolls closest to her and banged their heads together, snatching both guns and firing on the other trolls.

As this happened, Mr. Litwak used the pen to stab Clinton's hand, before charging towards the Warden. In response, the Warden aimed his gun at the elder man, but Mina used the opportunity to hit him where it hurts. With the Warden doubled over in pain, both grandfather and granddaughter were able to take cover.

Ralph, meanwhile, was able to shelter Suzie, Vanellope, Felix and Jacob, leading them out of the line of fire.

"Stay down," he told them, before leaping to join Calhoun.

With a determined expression, Felix adjusted his cap and leapt up, too. Suzie went to follow, but Vanellope grabbed her sleeve.

"Ralph said to stay!" she told the girl.

"To hell with what Ralph says!" said Suzie. "You stay with Jacob; I've got a plan!"

She hurried over to Mina, who was hiding behind the dancing game with Mr. Litwak.

"Mina, I need you to play the Escape game; you need to get to the bonus level," Suzie explained.

"Why?" her friend asked.

"We need to trap Clinton and the Warden inside," said Suzie. "Just yell for me when you've almost reached it."

With that, Suzie leapt up to join the fight. Mina hurried over to the game, and after putting on the helmet and gloves, she started playing. Mr. Litwak stood by her side, having picked up a gun from a fallen troll, and fired at any guard who went near them.

Ralph was getting pinned by a troll when Suzie leapt on said troll's back, hitting him on the head and creating a distraction. Ralph was able to dispose of the troll, and while he was thankful to Suzie...

"I thought I told you to stay down!"

"Like hell!" she told him. "Besides, my adrenaline's on fire, and we need to keep them busy until Mina's reached the bonus level on the game. Shouldn't take too long!"

_10 minutes later..._

"Mina, hurry _up..._" Suzie whined, half-heartedly punching a troll who had half-heartedly attacked her.

Ralph simply picked her up and placed her next to her friend; he was still going strong, as were Calhoun and Felix.

"I'm almost on the bonus level, Suzie!" Mina informed her friend.

"_Finally!_" Suzie sighed loudly. "Now where did Clinton and the Warden go?"

The two in question leapt out from behind a nearby game, attempting to take a cheap shot. Suzie rolled out the way, and Mr. Litwak shot back; Clinton dived, but the Warden was hit. As Clinton picked himself up, Suzie stormed over to him and kicked him in the face.

"That's for Mina!" she said, before treading on his hand. "And _that's_ for everything else!"

"We've got all the trolls, Suzie!" Ralph called over.

"Great!" Suzie called back. "Now come and help us drag these two over to the game; we need to hook them up once Mina reaches the bonus level!"

Ralph hurried over, before dragging both men over to the game. When Mina reached the bonus level, she hurriedly took off the helmet and gloves and attached them to the two men – and with seconds to spare.

There was a flash of light, and the two men vanished.

"And just to make sure they don't come back..."

Everyone turned to see Calhoun reaching for the plug of the game, and no one stopped her as she pulled it out.

* * *

**Don't forget to review! :D**


	12. Epilogue

Last chapter! Hope you all enjoy! :D

* * *

Epilogue

"So that's how you kill a video-game character, huh?" said Suzie, staring at the blank screen.

"Well, sort of," said Ralph. "When it gets plugged in again, you'll reappear; but you would be reset. All your memories from before would be gone. So in a way, it's a form of death."

"Especially if the game gets plugged in at another arcade," said Felix.

"Did you know about all this, Grandpa?" asked Mina.

"I suspected," said Mr. Litwak. "There were once reports of paranormal activity in this building, but it had mostly stopped by the time I bought it. I guess whatever was causing that is what's giving the games lives of their own."

"We should probably keep that in mind when we unplug and replace games in the future," Mina said, cringing.

Calhoun put the plug back in, and the screen showed the bonus level.

"Well, at least we don't have to play through it," the soldier sighed. "All right, ladies, let's go. Once we're inside our games, unplug that thing and destroy it; we don't want this happening again."

"It was nice meeting you all!" said Vanellope.

"You're leaving?" asked Jacob.

"We have to, little guy," said Felix. "It's our job to be played."

He turned to walk over to the game, but froze when Jacob leapt down and grabbed his legs, preventing him from leaving.

"I wanna come!"

Everyone stared at the little boy, who had screwed his eyes shut as he clung to Felix in determination. Suzie went to try and remove him, but Felix held up a hand to her.

"Give him time," he said.

So Suzie stepped back...straight into Ralph.

"So are we saying goodbye the same way we said hello?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess we are," she laughed. "This has...certainly been a fun ride."

"Yep! It...certainly has," Ralph agreed, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "I'm gonna miss you."

Behind Suzie, Vanellope rolled her eyes before pushing the girl forwards. Suzie fell against Ralph, who placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her, and the two gazed at one another until Ralph brought Suzie in for a hug which lasted for at least a few minutes.

"Suzie," Mina spoke up, once the two had pulled apart, "you are so dumb sometimes."

"What?"

"You know," her friend continued, "the reason there's so many Star-Crossed Lovers in fiction is because they make mountains out of molehills. One tiny thing in their relationship is blown out of proportion; 'Oh no! Our families hate each other! Whatever shall we do?' Run away before you get yourselves killed!"

"Mina, get to your point."

"My point? Go with them! And take that little munchkin, too!" she insisted. "Grandpa told me you failed your exams; you can't get into university, and you need to leave that foster home soon. It's the perfect excuse!"

"Mina, I really don't know..."

Mina rolled her eyes before placing a hand upon her friend's shoulder.

"Suzie, I'm doing this because you're my friend, and I care about you," she said, before turning to Ralph. "Kidnap her."

Suzie's eyes widened.

"What?!"

Ralph looked hesitant at first, but then he just shrugged and picked Suzie up, slinging her over his shoulder. Suzie began to struggle, thumping his back with her fists.

"Ralph! Put me down!"

"Suzie, stop struggling!" Mina said. "I know you; that selfish part of you really wants to go with them!"

"...Yeah, OK, I admit it."

"Yay! We're going!" Jacob cheered.

Felix and Calhoun each put on a glove while holding Jacob between them, while Vanellope put on the helmet. Ralph picked up the gun and held onto Suzie.

Suzie waved to both Mina and Mr. Litwak...but then she noticed someone entering the arcade, and her eyes widened when she realized who it was. Kerri's eyes widened simultaneously when she saw what was going on, just moments before the six of them disappeared into the video-game world forever.

Wondering what Suzie had been staring at, Mina and Mr. Litwak turned in time to see Kerri fall into a dead faint.

* * *

I've always wanted to end a story on some sort of cliffhanger, and now I have! Mwahahahahaha!

I'd like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read, fav, alert, and review this story; it means a lot to me! :D

Sadly there won't be a sequel, and I don't have any more Wreck-It Ralph ideas at the moment, but feel free to check out my other stories.


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